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2011 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Results

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Event #9
No-Limit Hold’em
Main Event Championship
Buy-In: $1,500 (+100)
Total Entries: 382
Total Prize Pool: $550,060
May 16-18, 2011

Official Final Results:

1 Jonathon Poche LAFAYETTE, LA, US $121,017
2 Robert Toye BATON ROUGE, LA, US $74,783
3 Josh Evans PLANO, TX, US $54,644
4 Todd Wood SPRINGFIELD, LA, US $40,573
5 Scott Zakheim DAVIE, FL, US $30,595
6 Jacob Bazeley CINCINNATI, OH, US $23,416
7 William Payne SAN ANTONIO, TX, US $18,185
8 Matthew Waxman PARKLAND, FL, US $14,324
9 James Mcbride Slidell, LA, US $11,441
10 Lance Craig IRVING, TX, US $9,263
11 Billy McBrayer TUSCALOOSA, AL, US $9,263
12 Douglas Lang DELMAR, NY, US $9,263
13 Michael Benton LAFAYETTE, LA, US $7,602
14 Samuel Bailey GULF BREEZE, FL, US $7,602
15 William Moorer MONCKS CORNER, SC, US $7,602
16 Mario Silvestri COLLEYVILLE, TX, US $6,325
17 Jared Ingles Dry Prong, LA, US $6,325
18 Allie Prescott LAS VEGAS, NV, US $6,325
19 Brian Heptinstall Birmingham, AL, US $5,350
20 Corrie Wunstel BATON ROUGE, LA, US $5,330
21 Mstr Lynch LEWISVILLE, TX, US $5,330
22 Richard Sasso MIAMI, FL, US $4,549
23 David Emmons HOUSTON, TX, US $4,549
24 Dwyte Pilgrim BROOKLYN, NY, US $4,549
25 James Namken HOUSTON, TX, US $3,933
26 Sundeepan Mehta Wyckoff, NJ, US $3,933
27 Matthew Hankins NEWNAN, GA, US $3,933
28 Mike Beasley HOLLYWOOD, FL, US $3,443
29 Michael Hallen Tampa, FL, US $3,443
30 Eric Utter Jacksonville, FL, US $3,443
31 Walter Wright LAS VEGAS, NV, US $3,052
32 Melih Birdal KNOXVILLE, TN, US $3,052
33 Chun Law LONDON, GB $3,052
34 Michael Traylor HOUSTON, TX, US $2,739
35 Daniel MacDougald NEW ORLEANS, LA, US $2,739
36 Mederic Lemenager Denham Springs, LA, US $2,739
37 Edward Corrado NAPLES, FL, US $2,486
38 Johnny Landreth LANETT, AL, US $2,486
39 John Ross THE WOODLANDS, TX, US $2,486
40 Douglas Friedmutter BROOKLYN, NY, US $2,486
41 Curtis Simpson LIVINGSTON, TX, US $2,486
42 Arturo Alaniz Houston, TX, US $2,486
43 Dan Schmiech HOUSTON, TX, US $2,486
44 Torrey Reily NEW ORLEANS, LA, US $2,486
45 Michael Smith HIRAM, GA, US $2,486

2011 Harrah's New Orelans WSOP Circuit Main Event Champion Jonathon Poche

2011 Harrah's New Orelans WSOP Circuit Main Event Champion Jonathon Poche

Jonathan Poche Makes Winning Look Easy

Local Poker Pro Wins Big Easy Main Event Championship

Main Event Draws Biggest Field in Seven Years – 382 Players

Brian Walsingham Wins “Best All-Around” Points Race in New Orleans

National Championship Points Race Nears the Finish Line

WSOP Circuit Southern Regional Championship Runs May 19-22

New Orleans, LA (May 18, 2011) – The 2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit season is winding down to a thrilling conclusion. The season moved one step closer to ending today with the crowing of a new gold ring champion at Harrah’s New Orleans.

New Orleans has been the final stop during each and every season since the WSOP Circuit began, back in 2005. There were 15 WSOP Circuit stops this season, the most ever. Most stops included ten official gold ring events. A “gold ring event” means the winner is awarded a gold ring, which symbolizes victory. Furthermore, all players who finished in-the-money in gold ring events were awarded points which apply to a national championship race and leader board. This is the first season the WSOP Circuit has utilized a ranking system for its players.

Four WSOP Circuit stops were designated as Regional Championships, including Harrah’s New Orleans. Each of these stops had included one additional gold ring event. The first three Regional Championships were completed at Horseshoe Hammond (Indiana), Harrah’s Atlantic City, and Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego). Harrah’s New Orleans is the final Regional Championship, which will take place May 19-22. The Southern Regional Championship costs $10,000 to enter.

The culmination of this season comes during May 27-29 in Las Vegas, just prior to the start of the WSOP. The inaugural WSOP Circuit National Championship will take place at Caesars Palace. The tournament will be nationally-televised on the Versus Network. Only 100 qualifiers will be eligible to participate. Eleven of the qualifiers came from events held at Harrah’s New Orleans.

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The Main Event Championship was a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament. The field consisted of 382 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $550,060. This was the largest field ever for any Main Event ever held in New Orleans. The previous high mark was set in 2005, with 259 entries.

The winner and new champion is Jonathan Poche, from St. Martinsville, LA. He is a professional poker player. Pocha kept a low profile during most of the tournament, never holding the chip lead until the very end when play became short-handed. He entered the final table ranked in sixth place.

But Pocha won most of the key late pots. He seemed to get stronger as players were gradually eliminated, demonstrating great proficiency as a short-handed player. Once play reached heads-up, Pocha dominated play and earned a well-deserved victory.

Pocha collected $121,017 for first place. He was presented with the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring. The bonus for winning this year’s Main Event was an automatic seat into the WSOP Circuit National Championship.

Pocha joins an exclusive list of seven players who have won the WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans. The list of Big Easy champions includes:

2011 – Jonathan Pocha (St. Martinville, LA)
2010 – Fred Berger (Las Vegas, NV)
2009 – Jean “Prince” Gaspard (Evanston, IL)
2008 – Nick Ceci (New Orleans, LA)
2007 – Andy Philachack (Garland, TX)
2006 – Peter Feldman (Las Vegas, NV)
2005 – Walter Chambers (Baton Rouge, LA)

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Play stretched out over three days. The Main Event’s top 45 finishers collected prize money. The end of Day One chip leader was Mario Silvestri, from Ft. Worth, TX. But he was eliminated during Day Two and ended up finishing in 16th place. Other notable players who cashed included – Allie Prescott (18th), Mstr Lynch (21st), Dwyte Pilgrim (24th), Michael Traylor (34th), and Dan Schmiech (43rd).

Another notable finish was that of Edward Corrado, from Naples, FL. The 80-year-old retiree finished in 37th place. He took fourth place in last year’s Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans.

A complete list of all in-the-money finishers in EVENT #9 can be found at WSOP.COM.

Final table play took place on the main stage inside the tournament room at Harrah’s New Orleans. The blinds started at 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante. When cards went into the air, the ten finalists and their chip counts were as follows:

Seat One: Lance Craig (Grapevine, TX) — 694,000 in chips
Seat Two: Josh Evans (Dallas, TX) – 1,159,000 in chips
Seat Three: Matthew Waxman (Parkland, FL) – 460,000 in chips
Seat Four: Bobby Toye (New Orleans, LA) – 882,000 in chips
Seat Five: Jonathan Poche (St. Martinsville, LA) – 656,000 in chips
Seat Six: Jacob Bazeley (Cincinnati, OH) — 983,000 in chips
Seat Seven: Todd Wood (Bucktown, LA) — 1,619,000 in chips
Seat Eight: Billie Payne (Mansfield, TX) — 307,000 in chips
Seat Nine: Scott Zakheim (Davie, FL) — 491,000 in chips
Seat Ten: Jim McBride (Slidell, LA) — 395,000 in chips

Final table play began at 2 pm on a Wednesday afternoon. Play concluded at 8 pm – making the total duration of play about six hours. Players were eliminated in the following order:

Tenth Place – Lance Craig experienced a nightmare at the final table. After about an hour of play, he became the first player to be eliminated when he shoved all-in with pocket queens. To his horror, chip leader Todd Wood snap called and showed pocket aces. Craig could not believe what he was seeing, not only facing the dreaded overpair, but also suffering the misfortune against a bigger stack. Craig failed to improve and had to settle for $92,63 in prize money.

Lance Craig, from grapevine, TX is a 42-year-old self-described “man of leisure.” He once worked as a software engineer. Craig has participated in five previous WSOP Circuit events. He took 17th in the Main Event Championship held two months ago at Harrah’s St. Louis. He also final tabled various tournaments in the past held at the Winstar Casino, in Oklahoma.

Ninth Place – Jim McBride was the senior player among the final ten. He is a 63-year-old retiree from Slidell, LA. He has played in many prior WSOP Circuit tournaments, cashing four times with two previous final table appearances. He took fourth place at the 2009 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge Main Event held at Harrah’s New Orleans.

McBride lost a race on what turned out to be his final hand. He took pocket eights up against A-Q. A queen flopped and an ace fell on the river, which busted McBride. He received $11,441 in prize money.

Eighth Place – Matthew Waxman was never able to generate much momentum on the final day. He ended up in eighth place. Waxman was down to his last 150,000 in chips and shoved with K-Q offsuit. He made the wrong time to make a move as his opponent called and revealed pocket kings. The dominant hand held up, putting Waxman out of the event.

Matthew Waxman is a 26-year-old professional poker player from Parkland, FL. He is originally from Princeton, NJ. He has many previous tournament accolades, including winning the WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship at Harrah’s Atlantic City earlier this season. Waxman has accumulated more than $700,000 in live tournament earnings in his career. He added another $14,324 to that figure for his performance in this tournament.

Seventh Place – Billy Payne went out about two hours into the finale. He shoved holding pocket eights and ran into pocket aces. Payne felt plenty of pain as the five board cards failed to bring a desperately-needed eight. He had to settle for $18,185.

Billie Payne is a 34-year-old plumber from Mansfield, TX. This marks only his second time to play in a WSOP Circuit tournament. He has two previous cashes elsewhere – including an in-the-money finish at the Choctaw Circuit stop in January as well as a cash at the WSOP in Las Vegas last year

Sixth Place – Jake Bazeley started play ranked third in chips but ran out of momentum about midway through the final and finished in sixth place. Bazeley’s final hand consisted of A-6 suited, which ran into pocket aces. Predictably, the bigger hand held up, leaving Bazeley with a payout totaling $23,416.

Jacob Bazeley is a 28-year-old professional poker player from Cincinnati, OH. He has played in nearly a dozen WSOP Circuit tournaments in the past. This marks his fifth time to cash, which means he’s made the money about half the time he has entered. Bazeley won first place in an event at the Indiana State Poker Championships in 2009. He has also cashed four times at the WSOP in Las Vegas.

Fifth Place – Scott Zakheim survived quite a while nursing a short stack. He was low on chips late on Day Two and still managed to make it not only to the final table, but all the way to fifth place. Zakheim might he gone even higher were it not for losing a race holding A-K against pocket queens. That critical hand cost Zakheim his stack and he went out with $30,595 in prize money.

Scott Zakheim is a 52-year-old attorney from Davie, FL. He is originally from New York. Zakheim has participated in four previous WSOP Circuit events. His most notable poker accomplishments include cashing in last year’s WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, another cash at the Circuit Championship Main Event at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in 2008, and 16 overall in-the-money tournament finishes totaling more than $200,000 in prize money.

One of the biggest hands of the tournament took place when play was four-handed. Bobby Toye won a huge pot against Josh Evans and seized a commanding chip lead. Toye was all-in pre-flop holding pocket kings, which bested Evans’ A-Q. That hand all but ended Evan’s shot of winning.

Fourth Place – Todd Wood came into the finale as the chip leader. He ended up as the third-place finisher. Wood ran low on chips and shoved with K-7 suited on his final hand. He ran into K-Q. Both players rivered a king for top pair, but Wood’s weak kicker cost him his last chips. Woods’ share of the prize money came to $40,573.

Todd Wood is a 42-year-old lexicographer, which means he evaluates and edits dictionaries. Wood was born in New Orleans. This is only the second WSOP Circuit tournament Wood has entered. In his only previous appearance, he finished in second place in a $500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at Harrah’s New Orleans, held two years ago. Wood now has a second and a fourth-place finish in his two Circuit events, which is a remarkable accomplishment.

Third Place – Josh Evans lost most of his chips on the big hand against Toye. He managed to double up one time and moved back into contention. But the rising blinds eventually made it necessary for Evans to gamble. On his final hand, Evans shoved with 9-8. He got a call by Jonathan Poche who tabled an ace. An ace on the flop crushed Evans, who ended up finishing in third place. The payout was $56,644.

Josh Evans is a 26-year-old poker pro from Dallas. He has played in numerous WSOP Circuit events in the past. This is his seventh Circuit cash this season. His best previous showing was third place – sho now he has two such finishes. Evans has many tournament accolades, including making the money in the 2007 WSOP Main Event Championship – which paid more than $100,000 for 76th place.

Second Place – Bobby Toye had a good shot to win, but went apparently went card dead at the worst possible time, when he was heads-up against a very aggressive opponent. However, Toye played remarkably well in this tournament. He earned his biggest cash ever in this event. Toye’s consolation prize for second place amounted to $74,783.

Bobby Toye is 24-years-old and resides in New Orleans. Remarkably, Toye won the very first three poker tournaments in which he cashed — earning victories at the Imperial Palace Classic in Biloxi, the World Poker Open, and the WSOP Circuit Seven-Card Stud Championship held at Harrah’s New Orleans in 2008, which earned him a gold ring. In fact, Toye was one of only two players at the final table who had previously won a WSOP Circuit gold ring.

When heads-up play began, the two finalists were close to even in chips. Pocha became super aggressive at this point, betting no matter what the situation, and ended up taking down pot after pot. Most of the hands were not shown.

The final hand came when Pocha had a big chip lead. Toye was forced to try to do something to stop Pocha’s ceaseless aggression. But he threw the gauntlet down at a bad time. When Pocha declared he was all-in, Pocha woke up with a strong hand – pocket eights. The final hand of the tournament played out as follows:

Toye: Js 8h
Pocha: 8s 8c
Flop: 5s 3d 2c
Turn: 6d
River: 5h

Toye was all-in pre-flop and was drawing slim. He essentially needed to catch a jack in order to stay alive. He did not get the jack and had to settle for second place. Jonathan Pocha was declared the winner.

First Place – The new champion is Jonathan Pocha, from St. Martinville, LA. He is a 29-year-old professional poker player. Prior to playing poker for a living, he worked as an oil field engineer. Poche has only participated in two WSOP Circuit events in the past and has made it all the way to the final table for the first time. He made the most of this opportunity and won a commanding victory.

Immediately following his victory, Pocha posed with “Mardi” the alligator. Mardi, named in honor of the Mardi Gras parade, has become a Harrah’s New Orleans tradition. Every year, the Main Event champion has posed with the big-jawed beast, stuffed with wads of $100 bills. Despite the unsavory company of being framed with the reptile, Pocha didn’t seem to mind one bit being photographed with “Mardi,” since the gawking gator was carrying the winner’s share of the loot.

With the Main Event now completed, New Orleans has crowned ten WSOP Circuit gold ring champions this year. The list of winners includes:

Event #1: John Christian (Baton Rouge, LA) defeated 473 players and won $28,288 in $355 NLHE
Event #2: John Holley (Destin, FL) defeated 96 players and won $8,380 in $355 MIX POT-LIMIT
Event #3: Danny Doucet (Lafayette, LA) defeated 312 players and won $21,116 in $355 NLHE
Event #4: Brian Walsingham (Atlanta, GA) defeated 423 players and won $26,801 in $355 NLHE
Event #5: Zhen Cai (Daytona Beach, FL) defeated 293 players and won $33,753 in $355 NLHE
Event #6: Walter B. Wright (Las Vegas, NV) defeated 101 players and won $14,544 in $565 PLO
Event #7: Tom Franklin (Gulfport, MS) defeated 646 players and won $38,139 in $355 NLHE
Event #8: Brian Walsingham (Atlanta, GA) defeated 356 players and won $78,604 in 1085 NLHE
Event #9: Jonathan Pocha (St. Martinville, LA) defeated 382 players and won $121,017 in MAIN EVENT
Event #10: Stephen Puleio (New Orleans, LA) defeated 355 players and won $23,515 in $355 NLHE

The Best All-Around Champion for the Harrah’s New Orleans series has officially been determined. The winner is Brian Walsingham. He won two gold rings and accumulated 100 points in the race for best player. By virtue of his outstanding performance, Walsingham qualified for a seat in the National Championship.

The inaugural WSOP Circuit Southern Regional Championship comes next. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will be taped for broadcast on national television. This is the first time since 2006 television cameras have filmed a poker event in New Orleans. The final of four regional tournaments promises to be an exciting end to the great 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season.
 
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A Short History of the WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans

The first major poker tournament held at Harrah’s New Orleans was called the “Cajun Poker Classic,” which took place in early 2004. The three-day tournament attracted 536 players and inspired the casino to host more poker events in the future. Later that year, the first Bayou Poker Challenge was held, which consisted of six tournaments.

Next, Harrah’s New Orleans became a charter member of the World Series of Poker Circuits, which officially started play in 2005. Since then, New Orleans has hosted the final stop on the circuit each year, which takes place in mid-May just prior to the start of the WSOP at the Rio in Las Vegas. The first two WSOP Circuit championships held at Harrah’s New Orleans were televised by ESPN and were among the most exciting tournaments broadcast at the time. They still occasionally appear in re-runs to this day.

WSOP Circuit events in New Orleans proved to be so successful that a second tournament series was created, starting in 2007. This became known as the “Bayou Poker Challenge” (a.k.a. the Winter Bayou Poker Challenge), which has since become a December attraction. This tournament series is categorized as a World Series of Poker Satellite, since its Main Event winner earns an entry valued at $10,000 seat (plus expense money) into the WSOP championship, held the following year.

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer
General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans
Assistant General Manager – Sherri Pucci
Vice President of Marketing – Luann Pappas
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett

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Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Final Table Set

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Event #9
No-Limit Hold’em
Main Event Championship
Buy-In: $1,500 (+100)
Total Entries: 382
Total Prize Pool: $550,060
May 16-18, 2011

The New Orleans Nine are Set!

Todd Wood Enters Final Day as Chip Leader

Harrah’s New Orleans Main Event Championship Finale Coming Up on Wednesday

National Championship Points Race Heating Up in Last Few Events

WSOP Circuit Southern Regional Championship Runs May 19-22

2011 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Final Table

2011 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Final Table

New Orleans, LA (May 17, 2011) – The final table of the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans is now set. But instead of calling this motley crew the “New Orleans Nine,” they will be the “New Orleans Ten.”

Following nearly 24 hours of play over two consecutive days, only ten poker players remain. Day Two was expected to play to the official lineup of nine players. However, at 2 am following a long day, players agreed to suspect play and return with one additional player. The ten finalists and their seating positions are as follows:

SEAT ONE: Lance Craig
HOMETOWN: Grapevine, TX
CHIP COUNT: 694,000
Lance Craig is a 42-year-old self-described “man of leisure.” He once worked as a software engineer. Craig is from Grapevine, TX which is in the Dallas area. Craig has participated in five precious WSOP Circuit events. He took 17th in the Main Event Championship held two months ago at Harrah’s St. Louis. He also final tabled various tournaments in the past held at the Winstar Casino, in Oklahoma.

SEAT TWO: Josh Evans
HOMETOWN: Dallas, TX
CHIP COUNT: 1,159,000
Josh Evans is a 26-year-old poker pro from Dallas. He has played in numerous WSOP Circuit events in the past. This is his seventh Circuit cash this season. His best previous showing was third place. Evans has many tournament accolades, including making the money in the 2007 WSOP Main Event Championship – which paid more than $100,000 for 76th place.

SEAT THREE: Matthew Waxman:
HOMETOWN: Parkland, FL
CHIP COUNT: 460,000
Matthew Waxman is a 26-year-old professional poker player from Parkland, FL. He is originally from Princeton, NJ. Waxman is also involved in business when he is not playing poker. Waxman has many previous tournament accolades, including the WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship at Harrah’s Atlantic City earlier this season. Waxman has accumulated more than $700,000 in live tournament earnings in his career, the most of anyone at this final table.

SEAT FOUR: Bobby Toye
HOMETOWN: New Orleans, LA
CHIP COUNT: 882,000
Bobby Toye is 24-years-old and resides in New Orleans. Remarkably, Toye won the very first three poker tournaments in which he cashed — earning victories at the Imperial Palace Classic in Biloxi, the World Poker Open, and the WSOP Circuit Seven-Card Stud Championship held at Harrah’s New Orleans in 2008, which earned him a gold ring. In fact, Toye is one of only two players at the final table who has previously won a WSOP Circuit gold ring. He is now hoping to win number two.

SEAT FIVE: Jonathan Poche
HOMETOWN: St. Martinville, LA
CHIP COUNT: 656,000
Jonathan Poche is a 29-year-old poker pro from St. Martinville, LA. Prior to playing poker for a living, he worked as an oil field engineer. Poche has only participated in two WSOP Circuit events in the past and has made it all the way to the final table for the first time.

SEAT SIX: Jacob Bazeley
HOMETOWN: Cincinnati, OH
CHIP COUNT: 983,000
Jacob Bazeley is a 28-year-old professional poker player from Cincinnati, OH. He has played in nearly a dozen WSOP Circuit tournaments in the past. This marks his fifth time to cash, which means he’s made the money about half the time he has entered. Bazeley won first place in an event at the Indiana State Poker Championships in 2009. He has also cashed four times at the WSOP in Las Vegas.

SEAT SEVEN: Todd Wood
HOMETOWN: Bucktown, LA
CHIP COUNT: 1,619,000
Todd Wood is a 42-year-old lexicographer, which means he evaluates and edits dictionaries. Wood was born in New Orleans. This is only the second WSOP Circuit tournament Wood has entered. In his only previous appearance, he finished in second place in a $500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at Harrah’s New Orleans, held two years ago. Wood arrives at the final table as chip leader with more than 1.6 million.

SEAT EIGHT: Billie Payne
HOMETOWN: Mansfield, TX
CHIP COUNT: 307,000
Billie Payne is a 34-year-old plumber from Mansfield, TX. This marks his second time to play in a WSOP Circuit tournament. He has two previous cashes – including an in-the-money finish at the Choctaw Circuit stop in January as well as a cash at the WSOP in Las Vegas last year.

SEAT NINE: Scott Zakheim
HOMETOWN: Davie, FL
CHIP COUNT: 491,000
Scott Zakheim is a 52-year-old attorney from Davie, FL. He is originally from New York. Zakheim has participated in four previous WSOP Circuit events. His most notable poker accomplishments include cashing in last year’s WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, another cash at the Circuit Championship Main Event at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in 2008, and 16 overall in-the-money tournament finishes totaling more than $200,000 in prize money.

SEAT TEN: Jim McBride
HOMETOWN: Slidell, LA
CHIP COUNT: 395,000
James McBride is a 63-year-old retiree from Slidell, LA. He has played in many prior WSOP Circuit tournaments, cashing four times with two previous final table appearances. He took fourth place at the 2009 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge Main Event held at Harrah’s New Orleans.

Play will resume on Wednesday, May 18th at 2 pm CST. The blinds will be 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante.

Play takes place on the main stage inside the tournament room at Harrah’s New Orleans. Seating is free and open to the public.

This is ninth of 11 gold ring events on this year’s Harrah’s New Orleans schedule. The tournament attracted 382 entries – which was the biggest turnout in six years. The prize pool amounts to $550,060. The champion will collect $121,017. He will also be awarded the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring. The bonus for winning this year’s Main Event will be an automatic seat into the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is to be played at Caesars Palace Las Vegas May 27-29.

The tournament’s top 45 finishers collected prize money. The end of Day One chip leader was Mario Silvestri, from Ft. Worth, TX. He was eliminated on this day and ended up finishing in 16th place. Other notable players who cashed, but are now out of the tournament include – Allie Prescott (18th), Mstr Lynch (21st), Dwyte Pilgrim (24th), Michael Traylor (34th), and Dan Schmiech 43rd).

Another notable finish was that of Edward Corrado, from Naples, FL. The 80-year-old retiree finished in 37th place. He took fourth place in last year’s Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans.

A complete list of all players who have cashed so far in EVENT #9 can be found at WSOP.COM.

New Orleans has already crowned eight WSOP Circuit gold ring champions, this year. The list of previous winners includes:

Event #1: John Christian (Baton Rouge, LA) defeated 473 players and won $28,288 in $355 NLHE
Event #2: John Holley (Destin, FL) defeated 96 players and won $8,380 in $355 MIX POT-LIMIT
Event #3: Danny Doucet (Lafayette, LA) defeated 312 players and won $21,116 in $355 NLHE
Event #4: Brian Walsingham (Atlanta, GA) defeated 423 players and won $26,801 in $355 NLHE
Event #5: Zhen Cai (Daytona Beach, FL) defeated 293 players and won $33,753 in $355 NLHE
Event #6: Walter B. Wright (Las Vegas, NV) defeated 101 players and won $14,544 in $565 PLO
Event #7: Tom Franklin (Gulfport, MS) defeated 646 players and won $38,139 in $355 NLHE
Event #8: Brian Walsingham (Atlanta, GA) defeated 356 players and won $78,604 in 1085 NLHE

At least 11 players from Harrah’s New Orleans will qualify for the nationally-televised WSOP gold bracelet event. The Main Event Championship winner gets a seat. The top overall point finisher gets a seat. And, the nine players who make it to the final table of the Southern Regional Championship will also earn automatic bids.

The inaugural WSOP Circuit Southern Regional Championship begins following the conclusion of the Main Event. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will be taped for broadcast on national television. This is the first time since 2006 television cameras have filmed a poker event in New Orleans. The final of four regional tournaments promises to be an exciting end to the great 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit season. The regional championship will be played May 19-22 at Harrah’s New Orleans.

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer
General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Dan Real
Assistant General Manager – Sherri Pucci
Vice President of Marketing – Luann Pappas
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Seniors Championship Event Final Results

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #19
No Limit Hold’em Seniors Championship
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 113
Total Prize Pool: $32,883
May 19, 2010

Final Results:

1 Thomas Becnel NA $8,714

2 Lane Leblanc NA $5,261

3 Robert Irby NA $3,370

4 Richard Craig NA $2,630

5 Carl Lee NA $2,055

6 Theodore Etter Dallas, TX $1,644

7 Thomas Howard Gretna, LA $1,315

8 Ricardo Briseno NA $1,068

9 Markie Garner NA $904

10 Larry Wright McQueeney, TX $739

11 Michael Husar Laplace, LA $739

12 George Watford Austin, TX $739

13 Jerry Saucier Helena, AL $657

14 Wesley Brockhoeft Austin, TX $657

15 Kenneth Milam Laplace, LA $657

16 Ann Champlin NA $575

17 “Captain” Tom Franklin NA $575

18 Louis “Buddy” Bonnecaze Baton Rouge, LA $575

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Seniors Championship Event Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Harrah’s New Orleans

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #18 Final Results

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #18
No Limit Hold’em Ladies Championship
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 78
Total Prize Pool: $22,666
May 19, 2010

Final Results:

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Ladies Championship Winner Paula Halata

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Ladies Championship Winner Paula Halata

1 Paula Halata Houston, TX $7,236

2 Patricia Marks Covington, LA $4,539

3 Deborah Lallo Ft. Myers, FL $2,894

4 Jodi Westendorf Key Largo, FL $2,042

5 Lisa Atwin Canada $1,645

6 Jenica Powell Canada $1,361

7 Jennifer White Houston, TX $1,134

8 Barbara Cardin NA $964

9 Patricia Mcardle New Orleans, LA $851

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #18 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Harrah’s New Orleans

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Final Results

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #17
No Limit Hold’em
Main Event Championship
Buy-In: $5,000 (+150)
Total Entries: 156
Total Prize Pool: $745,600
May 17-19, 2010

Final Results:

1 Fred Berger Slidell, LA $197,584

2 Mike Beasley Hollywood, FL $119,296

3 Ben Keiley Missoula, MT $76,424

4 Ed Corrado Naples, FL $59,648

5 Fernando Perez Mexico City, Mexico $46,600

6 Joel Merwick Omaha, NE $37,280

7 Jacob Naquin New Orleans, LA $29,824

8 Chander Jain Houston, TX $24,232

9 Jared Ingles Baton Rouge, LA $20,504

10 Jean “Prince” Gaspard Evanston, IL $16,776

11 Andrew Liporace Westport, CT $16,776

12 Patricia Pate Birmingham, AL $16,776

13 James Jewett Meridian, ID $14,912

14 Michael Rofman Houston, TX $14,912

15 Gordon Hammer Houma, LA $14,912

16 Robert Thornhill Spring, TX $13,048

17 Do Shin Choung Baton Rouge, LA $13,048

18 Eric Cloutier Lafayette, LA $13,048

“First the Bracelet, then the Ring”

Fred Berger Wins WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans

2002 WSOP Gold Bracelet Winner Adds to His Jewelry Collection with Gold Ring Victory

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Winner Fred Berger

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Winner Fred Berger

New Orleans, LA – The World Series of Poker uses a catchy slogan to promote its national tournament circuit. The popular slogan goes, “First the Ring, then the Bracelet.” The routine is for poker players to gain valauble tournament experience at various WSOP Circuit stops around the country, and then later come to Las Vegas and play in the WSOP to compete for poker’s ultimate prize – the gold bracelet.

Fred Berger has things backwards. The business owner from Slidell, LA won his gold bracelet at the 2002 WSOP. Eight years later, he won his first WSOP Circuit gold ring victory. Berger topped a tough field of 156 players at Harrah’s New Orleans and ultimately became the 2010 Bayou Poker Challenge champion. For his win, he received $197,584 in prize money, plus a pre-paid seat into the 2010 WSOP Main Event, to be played in Las Vegas. Berger was also presented with the coveted gold and diamond ring, awarded to all WSOP Circuit winners.

This was the final tournament of the 2009-2010 World Series of Poker Circuit season and the sixth Bayou Poker Challenge championship held at Harrah’s New Orleans. The Bayou series is held every May in the Crescent City and traditionally comes at the end of the eight-month long WSOP Circuit season. The $5,000 (+150) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over three consecutive days during May 17-19, 2010. The Main Event paid out the top 18 finishers, who divided a prize pool totaling $745,600.

The tournament officially began with a $10,000 donation given to the New Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity and “Project Full House,” which is a charitable partnership jointly supported by the World Series of Poker and Cabot Creamery Cooperative, from Vermont. Demonstrating the poker community’s support for good causes, poker players from around the country made donations at all eleven WSOP Circuit locations, with the pool of funds graciously handed over here in New Orleans.

The Main Event attracted several notable players, including multiple former WSOP gold bracelet winners. Among them was six-time WSOP title holder T.J. Cloutier, who is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. A local celebrity among those who entered was Paul Prudhomme, the world-famous New Orleans chef and connoisseur of Cajon-style cooking. After 87 players were eliminated on Day One, 69 players returned. During Day Two, players reached the prize money and played down to the final table.

The tenth place finisher was Jean “Prince” Gaspard, who won the 2009 Bayou Poker Challenge championship. He was on track most of the way to defend his title. However, Gaspard was eliminated at 4:30 am following a long Day Two holding pocket jacks, which ended up losing to pocket aces.

After winning a huge pot late on Day Two, Montana poker pro Ben Keiley arrived at the final table with a distinct chip lead over his closest threat, Ed Corrado, a retiree from Florida. Chander Jain, from Houston, started off play in third place. The remaining six players were each outchipped by margins of greater than 2 to 1. The eventual winner, Fred Berger started out in fifth place with about an average-sized stack.

The final table included a cross generational mix of players. Ranging in ages from 23 to 79, three generations of poker players competed for the Bayou Poker Challenge championship. The Day Three finale also attracted a large crowd of spectators. Among those who watched part of the final table action was former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun, who previously represented Illinois and once sought for the Democratic presidential nomination. She was accompanied by local dignitaries, who also happen to be part of the local New Orleans poker scene.

Final table player introductions can be seen in this short video clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VRgZTSX0H0

The nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Fred Berger Slidell, LA 298,500

2 Chander Jain Houston, TX 522,000

3 Joel Merwick Omaha, NE 262,000

4 Ben Keiley Missoula, MT 889,500

5 Jacob Naquin New Orleans, LA 183,500

6 Ed Corrado Naples, FL 575,000

7 Fernando Perez Mexico City, Mexico 127,000

8 Jared Ingles Baton Rouge, LA 126,000

9 Mike Beasley Hollywood, FL 446,500

Final table play began at 3:00 pm and ended at past midnight. Eight out of the nine finalists ended up singing the blues, in the following order:

Ninth Place: Jared Ingles Goes “Boom, Boom”
Jared Ingles lasted just one hand. As the shortest-stacked player, he tried to steal a round of blinds with a marginal hand, but got caught bluffing by a player holding AK. An ace flopped which basically ended Ingles’ shot of moving further up the money ladder. Jared Ingles, from Baton Rouge, LA now has nearly a dozen major cashes and about $200,000 in career tournament earnings at the ripe young age of 23. He collected $20,504 for ninth place.

Eighth Place: “The Thrill is Gone” for Chander Jain
Chander Jain, an IT consultant from Houston lost a race on what turned out to be his final hand, and went out in eighth place. Jain was dealt JJ and moved all-in. He got a call by AK and watched with disappointment as the flop brought an ace, turning his pocket pair from a small favorite into a huge underdog. The turn and river failed to bring the jack of salvation for Jain, who was forced to settle for a payout of $24,232. Interestingly, Jain was the 156th and final player to register for this tournament. His last-minute entry turned out to be a wise investment, indeed. Jain previously made another final table at a major tournament held earlier this year in Mississippi. He has won about $50,000 this year in live tournaments alone.

Seventh Place: Jacob Naquin is “Born Under a Bad Sign”
Jacob Naquin, who owns a convenience store in New Orleans was bagged up as the seventh place finisher. On his final hand, the 31-year-old part-time poker player took AJ up against pocket queens, with the predictable result. The big pocket pair won the pot, although a jack in the flop gave Naquin some hope. That’s as much improvement as Naquin would received, who ended up collecting $29,824. Naquin has several small cashes in various Bayou Poker Challenge events, dating all the way back to 2004.

Sixth Place: It’s a “Mean Ol’ World” says Joel Merwick
Joel Merwick was the player to beat during much of this tournament. He was the chip leader at end of Day One and maintained a healthy stack size throughout play, at least until about four hours into the final table when he took a nightmare beat on his final hand. Merwick had A2 and saw a flop with an ace and a deuce. He moved all-in with two pair and got a call from a rival with an ace (one pair). Unfortunately, one of the other cards paired on the river, and Merwick lost with kicker problems when both players ended up with two pair. Merwick, a 29-year-old entrepreneur from Omaha, NE had to settle for a sixth-place finish, which paid $37,280. Merwick also cashed in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, finishing 189th out of 5,619 players. This marked his sixth time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event.

Fifth Place: “It’s a Cryin’ Shame,” Says Fernando Perez
Originally from Belgium, Fernando Perez now lives in Mexico City and currently practices law. The attorney was short-stacked for five hours and finally busted out on a tough beat when his A9 lost to K9 of hearts, when the opponent made a heart flush. Perez, one of an emerging number of poker players from Mexico who have begun to play more tournaments, received a nice settlement totaling $46,600. Perez has one other cash in his tournament resume – at the 2008 WSOP in Las Vegas.

Fourth Place: For Ed Corrado, “Out Goes the Light”
Ed Corrado demonstrated that age is no barrier to playing with the best in the game. The 79-year-old retiree from Naples, FL had an average-sized stack most of the way, but lost many of his chips when he was bluffed out of a big pot by Fred Berger. That left him short-stacked. A few minutes later, Corrado moved all-in with A8 which got a call from pocket nines. The middle pocket pair held up, leaving Corrado on the rail with a fourth-place finish. Corrado collected a nice sum amounting to $59,648. Corrado now has nearly 30 major cashes, three wins, and several WSOP-related cashes on his record. He also final tabled last year’s Winter Bayou Poker Challenge, finishing in second place to Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler.

Third Place: “They Sky is Crying” for Ben Keiley
After the top three players agreed to a deal, the next player to bust out was the early chip leader, Ben Keiley. On his final hand, the Montana poker pro tried to make a move pre-flop with K5 suited. But his all-in raise was called by Fred Berger, who tabled AJ. Keiley took a temporary lead on the hand when the five flopped. But an ace fell on the turn, and Berger surged back into the lead. Keiley failed to catch one of five outs on the river and ended up with an official payout amounting to $76,424. An interesting side note and lesson to all poker players regarding Keiley’s experience: At the end of Day One, Keiley was down to just 9,000 in chips, which amounted to about a round of blinds and antes. He even later said he almost flew home without completing the tournament. As it turned out, Day Two was huge for Keiley and he ended up making his biggest poker score ever.

Second Place: Mike Beasley “Can’t Be Satisfied”
Mike Beasley, a poker pro from Hollywood, FL, is enjoying the year of a lifetime. He cashed for half a million dollars in a recent tournament held in Connecticut. In his next major, Beasley came to New Orleans and ended up taking $119,296 for this effort, quite a consolation prize for a non-victory. Nevertheless, the experience was bittersweet for 46-year-old Beasley who was visibly disappointed that he did not win.

Beasley was outchipped by about a 5 to 1 margin when the final hand of the tournament was dealt out about 1:30 am. Beasley moved all in with Kh 7s. Berger called and showed Ad Tc. The board ran out Th 5s 3d 4s Jd which gave Berger the final pot of the tournament with a pair of 10′s.
First Place: Fred Berger Says — “Lets the Good Times Roll”
Low-key Fred Berger did not make a big scene following his victory. But he was clearly thrilled with the course of events and satisfied with how he played – thus embodying the mark of a true professional. Berger remarked afterward that his victory here in New Orleans was particularly special.

When asked about what he remembers most about winning his WSOP gold bracelet eight years ago, Berger recalled that he defeated Chris “Jesus” Ferguson in heads up play, and ended up winning the Pot-Limit Hold’em championship. Incredibly, it was the first WSOP tournament Berger had ever played – resulting in poker’s most coveted prize. Berger has since gone on to win more than $900,000 in various tournaments, including this payout which amounted to $197,584.

“I plan on giving ten percent of my winnings to charity,” Berger stated afterward. “That’s how I do things. The rest of the money – I’ll give it to (my wife). I hope she might stake me in a few future tournaments.”

Incredibly, Berger’s victory almost never happened. In fact, he almost won nothing at all. When the tournament still had 19 players on Day Two, once spot away from the money Berger moved all-in holding pocket 8s. He got an annoying call from a bigger stack, holding AK. Berger ended up winning the critical race and 24 hours later, he was the tournament champion.

On second thought, perhaps Berger is following the credo “First the Ring, then the Bracelet,” after all. With plans to play in the upcoming WSOP to be held in Las Vegas which begins next week, perhaps what Berger really means is “First the Ring, then the Bracelet – this year.”

An interview with Fred Berger and the final hand of the tournament can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfXdzYUgf-A

This year’s championship at Harrah’s New Orleans brings a fitting close to a WSOP Circuit season that was both entertaining and exciting. This year’s WSOP Circuit included tournaments held at Hammond Horseshoe (Chicago), Caesars Indiana, Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Harrah’s Tunica, Horseshoe Council Bluffs, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Rincon, Harrah’s St. Louis, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and Harrah’s New Orleans. More than $20 million was awarded this season to more than two-thousand poker players who cashed in 150 official gold ring events.

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Harrah’s New Orleans

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Championship Event End of Day 2 Chip Counts

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

2009/2010 WSOP Circuit Event – Harrah’s New Orleans
End of Day [2] Report: Event #17: No Limit Hold’em Championship
5/19/2010
Entries: 156
Remaining Players (at EOD): 9
Places Paid: 18
Buyin: 5,150.00
Prize Pool: 756,600.00

The final table for the last WSOP Circuit Main Event championship tournament of the 2009-2010 season is now set. Play will resume at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, May 19th.

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Championship Event Day 2 Chip Leader Benjamin Keiley

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Championship Event Day 2 Chip Leader Benjamin Keiley

RANK PLAYER CITY / STATE / COUNTRY CHIP COUNT ROOM / TABLE / SEAT

1 Keiley, Benjamin 889500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 4

2 Corrado, Edward Naples, FL 576000 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 6

3 Jain, Chander 522000 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 2

4 Beasley, William Hollywood, FL, USA 446500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 9

5 Berger, Fred 298500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 1

6 Merwick, Joel New Orleans, LA 262000 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 3

7 Naquin, Jacob 183500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 5

8 Perez, Fernando 127500 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 7

9 Ingles, Jared 126000 Harrah’s NOR / 1 / 8

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Championship Event Day 1 Chip Counts

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #17
No Limit Hold’em
Main Event Championship
Buy-In: $5,000 (+150)
Total Entries: 156
Total Prize Pool: $756,600
May 17-19, 2010

Day 1 of the $5,000 Championship Event at Harrah’s New Orleans concluded on May 17th. The chip leader at the end of day 1 is Joel Merwick with 151,800.

Some noteable names left include Jean Gaspard with 64,300 chips, Steve Brecher with 31,600 chips and Allen Kessler with 16,200 chips. Gaspard is the reigning champion as he won the $5,000 Championship Event at Harrah’s New Orleans in May 2009.

End of Day One Standings:

Player Name Chip Count Table Seat

Joel Merwick 151,800 57 4

Vhor Coelho 130,200 51 4

Ed Corrado 114,000 52 1

Eric Cloutier 102,000 53 3

Durham Chaney 100,100 52 8

Fernando Perez 97,300 54 5

Jimmy Tran 95,300 53 6

B.J. McBrayer 90,900 52 4

Lance Oliver 90,000 52 5

Jason Su 85,500 60 4

Patricia Dawn 83,200 57 5

Rodney Baseke 73,300 52 6

Bach Vu 72,400 60 1

Hamilton Reeves 70,300 61 8

James Jewett 69,400 51 8

J.D. Estilette 69,000 56 1

Jean Gaspard 64,300 51 1

Fred Berger 63,800 52 3

Barbara Smith 59,700 53 2

Daniel Lee 59,000 60 2

Gary Friedlander 58,900 61 3

Timothy Miles 58,200 52 2

Dan Walsh 57,800 61 7

Ben Thomas 55,000 57 9

Jeremy Gaubert 51,500 61 6

Mike Raimon 51,400 56 9

Mike Brownis 51,000 54 3

Chris Gamboa 50,200 56 5

Matt Brady 46,700 56 7

Jerome Moon 45,800 57 7

Frank Ferguson 45,800 60 6

Andrew Liporace 41,100 54 1

Brian Gambrielle 39,200 57 6

Mike Beasley 38,600 60 9

Harry McGowan 37,700 56 6

Chandler V. Jain 36,925 53 4

Joel Casper 36,700 57 8

Andy Philacack 35,000 54 7

Jared Ingles 33,800 51 6

Stanley Seelig 33,100 60 8

Howard Andrew 31,800 52 9

Steve Brecher 31,600 57 2

Shane Lewis 30,900 61 4

Doug Benedict 30,100 52 7

Jason Mann 30,000 54 8

Robert Thornhill 29,000 54 6

Chris Stephan 28,300 56 3

Don Norman 27,200 53 8

Chris McCutchum 27,200 51 7

Tony Vidmer 25,600 60 3

Dan Briteur 24,600 53 9

Ben Mintz 24,500 53 5

Harry Cullen 23,500 51 3

Martin Humphrey 23,200 51 9

Brian Senie 22,000 56 2

Gordon Hammer 20,700 53 7

Jacob Naquin 20,400 54 2

Jon Mazursky 20,100 57 1

Tim Davis 16,800 56 8

Allen Kessler 16,200 60 7

Jonathan Delatuente 15,500 56 4

Gabriel Andrade 14,900 61 2

Marty Williams 13,400 60 5

Daid Diaz 11,500 53 7

Ben Keiley 9,100 61 9

John R. Green, Jr. 8,000 51 2

Garrett Utt 6,400 54 9

Russ Miller Illegible 61 5

Paul Prudhomme Illegible 57 3

For a complete list of events and results through Event #16, click on the link below:

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event Schedule and Results

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #16 Final Results

Monday, May 17th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #16
Pot-Limit Omaha with Re-Buys ($100)
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 51
Number of Re-Buys: 262
Total Prize Pool: $40,255
May 15-16, 2010

Final Results:

1 Hamilton McGowan Eunice, LA $12,881

2 Tony “Tekk” Seunsom Houston, TX $8,051

3 Gene “Timberrrrr!” Timberlake Houston, TX $5,132

4 A.W. “Antony” Vidmer Nashville, TN $3,622

5 Gary Bolden St. Louis, MO $2,918

6 “Captain” Tom Franklin Gulfport, MS $2,415

7 Mark Gallagher Houston, TX $2,012

8 Joshua Fanguy Houston, TX $1,710

9 Michael Schneider NA $1,509

Gentlemen’s Agreement: Top Three Finishers Make Deal

Ricky McGowan Wins First Major Tournament Victory at Harrah’s New Orleans

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #16 Winner Hamilton McGowan

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #16 Winner Hamilton McGowan

New Orleans, LA – Fireworks were expected at the latest Bayou Poker Challenge tournament final table. Instead, the much-anticipated show ended up as a bust. It was a firecracker with a wet fuse. Not that anyone complained. The tournament’s top three finishers agreed to a deal and went on their merry ways. But anyone who was expecting to witness the most interesting final table of any held thus far at Harrah’s New Orleans departed with a bitter sense of disappointment. It was like watching the time trials of the Indianapolis 500, and then calling it a real car race.

Of course, deals are a big part of poker. And, it’s the player’s prerogative to negotiate deals amongst themselves. After all, players post the prize pools through their entry fees and once skill discernable differences become measured by razor-thin margins, sometimes altered by the turn of a single card, then it makes perfect sense to hammer out a deal.

That’s what Ricky McGowan, Tony “Tekk” Seunsom, and Gene “Timberrrr” Timberlake all did in World Series of Poker Circuit Event #16. McGowan got his piece. Seunsom got his. And, Timberlake took his. The final table might as well have been a bare carcass laying on the prairie after a pack of starving wolves had devoured all the meat. Oh, and McGowan ended up taking the gold ring. Let’s all hear it for the “winner!”

This was the 16th of 19 gold ring events on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $340 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 15th and 16th. The tournament attracted 51 entries. But the prize pool was bolstered by a whopping 262 re-buys, which amounted to more than four per player. The top nine finishers divided a prize pool totaling $40,255.

After 45 players were eliminated on the first day, six-handed play began at 2:00 pm. The nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 A.W. (Tony) Vidmer Nashville, TN 132,000

2 Gary Bolden St. Louis, MO 88,000

3 “Captain” Tom Franklin Gulfport, MS 69,000

4 Gene Timberlake Houston, TX 60,000

5 Tony “Tekk” Seunsom Houston, TX 240,000

6 Ricky McGowan Eunice, LA 140,500

“Some” players were eliminated in the following order:

Sixth Place: “Captain” Tom Franklin Given Honorable Discharge
Former WSOP gold bracelet winner “Captain” Tom Franklin busted out about an hour into play. His AAxx ended up losing to a straight. Franklin, a former Vietnam vet, won a gold bracelet in the Limit Omaha event at the 2009 WSOP. He now has $2.6 million in accumulated live tournament winnings. Franklin, who now lives in Gulfport, MS collected $2,415.

Fifth Place: Gary Bolden
Gary Bolden, a 31-year-old poker from the St. Louis area, ended up in fifth place. This was Bolden’s fourth WSOP Circuit cash and third final table appearance. He has also previously cashed at the WSOP in Las Vegas. Fifth place paid $2,918.

Fourth Place: Film Director Cut
Film director and screenwriter A.W. “Tony” Vidmer battled his way to a fourth-place finish. He lives in Nashville, ended up with $3,622 in prize money. Vidmer is best known in the poker world as the writer and director of the film “High Roller,” a biographical story of the late poker icon Stu Ungar. This marked Vidmer’s second time to cash at this year’s Bayou series, following a ninth-place finish in Event #12.

Third Place: “Timberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” — The Spirit of Competition Falls
Gene Timberlake, a longtime poker player and accountant from Houston, took third place. Timberlake was running over the table the previous day, but lost chips late and was short-stacked the entire duration of the final table. Timberlake, who has never won a poker tournament in his life, decided it was the best thing to work a deal. Timberlake now has innumerable final table appearances (notch one more mark on his belt), and zero wins. His resume currently shows about $350,000 in career tournament earnings, no doubt pumped up by a few extra thousand after collecting $5,132, the official payout for the third-place finisher.

Second Place: Tony “Tekk” Seunsom Takes Second – Again and Again and Again
Tony “Tekk” Seunsom plays poker for money. He made yet another deal and relinquished his opportunity to win a first WSOP Circuit gold ring, instead choosing to pocket some extra jack. He’s now got something like 563,912 second-place finishes, but who’s counting? The official meaningless figure Seunsom presumably collected amounted to $8,051.

First Place: “Ricky McGowan Wins!” “Ricky McGowan Wins!” “Ricky McGowan Wins!”
The closing moments of the latest WSOP Circuit tournament won’t rival Bobby Thompson’s so-called “shot heard ‘round the world” in the Dodgers-Giants playoff game, but the result of a three-way handshake was just the same as a blast into the left field bleachers. Ricky McGowan, from Eunice, LA collected a gold ring and could rightfully declare himself as the champion. So, McGowan ultimately gets his name in headlights for a day and the history books forever (well, the Internet forever), while a few also-rans could presumably take some satisfaction in their expert negotiating skills.

The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans continues through May 19th. This year’s schedule includes 19 gold ring events, along with multiple second-chance tournaments, single table and mega satellites, in addition to cash games going around the clock inside the Harrah’s New Orleans Poker Room. This marks the sixth straight year Harrah’s New Orleans has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. This is the 11th and final WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, Council Bluffs, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Rincon, Harrah’s St. Louis, and Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #16 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Harrah’s New Orleans

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #15 Final Results

Monday, May 17th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #15
No Limit Hold’em Shootout
Buy-In: $500 (+50)
Total Entries: 198
Total Prize Pool: $90,880
May 14-15, 2010

Final Results:

1 Ronnie Hoover Baton Rouge, LA $23,856

2 Shimiron Preis St. Charles, LA $14,540

3 Jahson “Class” Spence Yonkers, NY $9,315

4 David “The Assassin” Dowdy Canton, GA $7,270

5 John “Skinny B.” Cleaveland Austin, TX $5,680

6 Preston R. Derden Houston, TX $4,544

7 Ed Corrado Naples, FL $3,635

8 Stanley Seelig Metairie, LA $2,953

9 Michael Raimon Bradenton, FL $2,499

10 James Jewett Meidian, LA $2,044

11 Alexandru Masek San Diego, CA $1,454

12 James Petzing Chicago, IL $1,454

13 John “Cowboy” Land Dallas, TX $1,454

14 Gary Bland Edwardsville, IL $1,454

15 Robert Mapp Waynesboro, VA $1,454

16 Charles Looper Augusta, GA $1,454

17 Jared Ingles Baton Rouge, LA $1,454

18 Lee Macalester New Orleans, LA $1,454

19 “Johnny Chicago” Nowak Fairview, TX $1,454

20 Donald Norman Marion, IL $1,454

Hoover, Damn!

Ronnie Hoover Earns First Major Tournament Victory at Harrah’s New Orleans

“Johnny Chicago” Hits Five Cashes at this Year’s Bayou Series

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #15 Winner Ronnie Hoover

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #15 Winner Ronnie Hoover

New Orleans, LA – The top three finishers in the latest World Series of Poker Circuit tournament held at Harrah’s New Orleans agreed to a deal. Ronnie Hoover, a 59-year-old retiree from Baton Rouge, LA ended up taking first place. His official payout amounted to $23,856. Hoover was also presented with his first WSOP Circuit gold ring, marking his first tournament victory.

Hoover has a few previous cashes on his poker resume, but nothing on the scale of winning a WSOP-related tournament. The runner up was Shimiron Preis, from St. Charles, LA. He was part of the deal made with third-place finisher Jahson “Class” Spence, from Yonkers, NY. The last hand of the tournament took place when Spence lost a big race holding AQ against pocket jacks, leaving him as the shortest stack. That’s when the negotiating began, ending up with an agreement which ended the tournament much earlier than had been anticipated.

This was the 15th of 19 gold ring events on this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge schedule. The $500 (+50) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Shootout was played over two consecutive days during May 15th and 16th. The tournament attracted 198 entries.

The Shootout concept was simple. The “winner” was required to survive three consecutive tables. Sounds easy, but given the stiff competition, some of the matches went several hours. For instance, the second round match between third-place finisher Jahson Spence and two-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner Alexandru Masek lasted five hours – heads up! Furthermore, since rounds could not begin until all matches were complete, the Day One competition lasted about 15 hours.
Among the twenty players who cashed was “Johnny Chicago” Nowak, who is originally from Chicago but now lives near Dallas. “Johnny Chicago” tied a WSOP Circuit record by cashing in his fifth tournament at this series, the most by any player ever at one single tournament stop. With the Main Event still to be played, “Johnny Chicago” now has a shot at making history. He says he plans to play in the Main Event, just for this reason.

The top 20 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $80,510. After 188 players were eliminated on the first day, final table play with ten players commenced on a Sunday afternoon. There were two prior WSOP Circuit gold ring winners among the final ten. Mike Raimon won last year’s Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em championship here at Harrah’s New Orleans. Ed Corrado won a title three years ago at Harrah’s Tunica.

All final table players started play with identical stack sizes of 12,000 chips. Final Table play lasted about five hours and ended at 7 pm. Players were eliminated in the following order:

Tenth Place: Jewett Tenth
Jim Jewett, a real estate developer from Meridian, ID went out first when his A8 lost to AK. The real estate developer collected a nice commission amounting to $2,044. This marked his third WSOP Circuit cash. He also made the money at the WSOP in Las Vegas last year.

Ninth Place: Raimon Ninth
Former WSOP gold ring winner Mike Ramon went out in ninth place. The pro poker player who also won a WSOP satellite series tournament held in Mississippi last year, collected $2,499 for this finish.

Eighth Place: Seelig Eighth
Stanley Seelig, who is self-employed and lives in nearby Metairie, LA exited in eighth place. He received $2,953. This was his first WSOP Circuit cash. He did make it to a final table at last year’s Winter Bayou Poker Challenge, finishing seventh.

Seventh Place: Corrado Seventh
Ed Corrado, a 79-year-old retiree from Naples, FL was the seventh-place finisher. He has accumulated nearly $500,000 in career tournament finishes, including three major wins and numerous in-the-money finishes. Corrado won his WSOP Circuit gold ring at Harrah’s Tunica in 2006. Seventh place paid $3,635.

Sixth Place: Derden Sixth
Preston R. Derden, a 63-year-old retiree from Houston, TX cashed for the tenth time in a WSOP Circuit tournament, and fifth time here at Harrah’s New Orleans. Derden, who was the runner up in a Circuit event last year at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, ended up in sixth place, worth $4,544.

Fifth Place: “Skinny B.” Fifth
“Skinny B.” Cleaveland, a barber from Austin, TX ended up getting clipped and took fifth place. He survived a number of close shaves, but was crewcutted away from the final by Ronnie Hoover. “Skinny B.” was swept away with $5,680 in prize money.

Fourth Place: “The Assassin” Fourth
David “The Assassin” Dowdy, a poker pro from Canton, GA was himself gunned down in what was his first time to enter a WSOP Circuit tournament. It was quite a showing for the 27-year-old, making the final table in his first try. Dowdy had previously cashed three times in various tournaments held in Las Vegas. Fourth place paid $7,270.

Third Place: Spence Third
Jahson “Class” Spence, a tough talkative poker pro from Yonkers, NY was part of a three-way split for the top three places. He agreed to a third-place payout totaling $9,315. This was his best WSOP-related showing yet, following a sixth-place finish earlier this year at Caesars Atlantic City.

Second Place: Preis Second
Shimiron Preis, a poker pro from St. Charles, LA agreed to second place. He cashed four times in various WSOP Circuit events, including twice last month at Harrah’s St. Louis. The former 36-year-old manager collected a nice official payout amounting to $14,540.

First Place: Hoover First!
Ronnie Hoover, a retiree from Baton Rouge, LA was the winner of the 15th WSOP Circuit event. He officially collected $14,540 for first place, plus his first gold ring. He formally worked in sales and marketing. In his spare time, when he is not playing poker Hoover enjoys fishing and playing golf. This was Hoover’s first major tournament victory.

The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans continues through May 19th. This year’s schedule includes 19 gold ring events, along with multiple second-chance tournaments, single table and mega satellites, in addition to cash games going around the clock inside the Harrah’s New Orleans Poker Room. This marks the sixth straight year Harrah’s New Orleans has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. This is the 11th and final WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, Council Bluffs, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Rincon, Harrah’s St. Louis, and Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #15 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Harrah’s New Orleans

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #13 Final Results

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

2009/2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Harrah’s New Orleans
Bayou Poker Challenge
Event #13
No Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $300 (+40)
Total Entries: 498
Total Prize Pool: $139,768
May 14-15, 2010

Final Results:

1 “Big Pappa” Solomon Hamilton, GA $32,775

2 Huey Hulin St. Martinville, LA $20,266

3 Daniel Walsh Powder Springs, GA $12,579

4 Hengli “Henry” Tang Tallahassee, FL $10,133

5 John McNeal Franklinton, LA $8,246

6 Linda C. Kennedy Thomaston, AL $6,499

7 Seneca “Six of Spades” Easley Ft. Worth, TX $5,101

8 David Dao Elizabethtown, KY $4,053

9 William “Big Gravy” Ford Albuquerque, NM $3,005

10 Janice Randall Metairie, LA $1,956

11 John Thompson NA $1,956

12 Christopher Chandler Houston, TX $1,956

13 William Spangler Baton Rouge, LA $1,607

14 Michael Hebert Denham Springs, LA $1,607

15 Jeffrey Wyatt Bossier City, LA $1,607

16 Ryan Zachary Concord, NC $1,257

17 David Billings Glenmora, LA $1,257

18 Jonathan Hart Jackson, MS $1,257

19 Brenda Clayton Caroline, TX $978

20 Ludak Sisek NA $978

21 Michael McGuire Fresno, CA $978

22 Kevin Kaylor NA $978

23 Kelly Webb Knoxville, TN $978

24 George Hosek Mandeville, LA $978

25 Matthew Lawrence Tulsa, OK $978

26 Jesse Nzuela Brian, TX $978

27 James Martin Denham Springs, LA $978

28 Felix Beene NA $838

29 Randall Keating NA $838

30 Lacy Wills Port St. Lucy, FL $838

31 Angie Sanders New Orleans, LA $838

32 Travis Smith Mt. Herman, LA $838

33 Robert Thornhill New Orleans, LA $838

34 Andrew Mathis Fairfax, VA $838

35 Christopher Dupuy Baton, Rouge, LA $838

36 Gregory Benoit Lake Charles, LA $838

37 Stephen Danos Maurero, LA $698

38 Richard Guthrie New Orleans, LA $698

39 James Huddleston San Antonio, TX $698

40 Christopher Harris Kenner, LA $698

41 Kent Landry Patterson, LA $698

42 Stanley Hart Biloxi, MS $698

43 Donald Casey Metairie, LA $698

44 Robert March Boulder, CO $698

45 Richard Farrar Lanett, AL $698

Saturday Night Special in the Big Easy

“Big Pappa” Earns First Major Tournament Victory at Harrah’s New Orleans

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #13 Winner Big Pappa Solomon

2010 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Event #13 Winner Big Pappa Solomon

New Orleans, LA – “Big Pappa” made an astounding comeback in the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament, part of this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge series being played in The Big Easy. The Georgia senior not only overcome a massive chip disadvantage when the final table started – ranked eighth out of nine players – he ended up destroying his final two adversaries when play was at three handed and the tournament seemed all but over.

Indeed, when “Big Pappa” was locked into a three-handed match against the eventual runner up Huey Hulin and Dan Walsh (who would end up taking third), it appeared Huey Hulin would win his first major tournament victory. He had a massive stack size, in stark contrast to the other two players who were hanging on for dear life, seemingly with hopes of moving into second place. However, once Dan Walsh was eliminated, “Big Pappa” would end up catching every break possible en route to a head-shaking victory. Even those who watched and witnessed appeared dumbfounded that Hulinl did not win.

The beneficiary of a monster rush of good fortune late in the tournament was “Big Pappa,” a mystery man from Georgia who prefers to stay anonymous. The cagey winner pocketed $32,755 for first place, plus a WSOP Circuit gold ring. Meanwhile, Hulin was left wondering what went wrong while Dan Walsh was last scene muttering expletives to himself for yet another WSOP Circuit final table appearance, but non-win.

This was the 13th gold ring event of 19 on this year’s WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s New Orleans. The $340 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 14th and 15th. The tournament attracted 498 entries, which was the second-biggest turnout so far at this year’s Bayou series. The top 45 finishers carved up a prize pool totaling $139,768. After 489 players were eliminated over the first 16 hours of competition, final table play began on a Saturday afternoon. There were no prior WSOP Circuit gold ring event winners among the final nine players, which guaranteed a first-time champion.

Four players arrived at the final table with a decisive advantage over the remaining five short stacks. Hengli Tang, Dan Walsh, Huey Hulin, and Linda C. Kennedy each had the rest of the field outchipped by nearly 2 to 1 or more. But the massive number of chips in play and low blinds and antes meant that everyone had a chance to make a move – especially the player in the Three Seat nicknamed “Big Pappa.” It took more than 90 minutes for the first player to be eliminated.

When Final Table play began at 6:00 pm, the nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat Player Hometown Chip Count

1 Willie “Big Gravy” Ford Albuquerque, NM 463,000

2 David Dao Elizabethtown, KY 239,000

3 Seneca “Six of Spades” Easley Ft. Worth, TX 210,000

4 “Big Pappa” Solomon Hamilton, GA 155,000

5 Hengli Tang Tallahassee, FL 810,000

6 Dan Walsh Powder Springs, GA 897,000

7 Huey Hulin St. Martinville, LA 795,000

8 Mike McNeal Franklinton, LA 119,000

9 Linda C. Kennedy Thomaston, AL 790,000

Final table play lasted nearly six hours and ended at 11:45 pm. Players sung the blues in the following order:

Ninth Place: Willie “Big Gravy” Ford Goes “Boom, Boom”
Willie Ford, a.k.a. “Big Gravy” lasted about 90 minutes. He suffered the unfortunate trap feared by all Hold’em players of holding an over pair on an innocent-looking board, only to watch in horror when his all-in post-flop bet was snap called by a player holding a set. “Big Gravy’s” pocket nines ended up losing to pocket sevens when a seven came on board, leaving the player from Albuquerque, NM in ninth place, with $3,005.

Eighth Place: “The Thrill is Gone” for Dao
David Dao, a physician from Kentucky, was diagnosed with an eighth-place finish when his AJ ended up losing to pocket queens. This marked Dao’s 12th time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event. He has finished second three times, but has yet to win a gold ring. Dao was prescribed a payout amounting to $4,053, with some side effects of depression, for failing to win.

Seventh Place: “Six of Spades” is “Born Under a Bad Sign”
Seneca “Six of Spades” Easley, from Ft. Worth, TX earned his interesting moniker from riding in a motorcycle gang. His nickname seemed tailor-made for an aspiring WSOP Circuit champion, but the cards had no literary appreciation. Easley went out about two hours into play and settled for $5,101 in prize money. He previously cashed twice in tournaments held in Las Vegas, but this was his first WSOP-related in-the-money finish.

Sixth Place: “Lady Sings the Blues”
Linda C. Kennedy, a retired air traffic controller who now lives in Thomaston, AL started out the final table with a decent number of chips. She lasted about three hours during which she became short-stacked. Finally, Kennedy moved all in with A9 on what turned out to be her final hand. She was thrilled to get a call from one of the big stacks, who showed the dog hand 74 offsuit. But the puppy hand barked when a seven flopped, ending up biting Kennedy, who left the table with mixed feelings. Given her early stack size, she hoped to finish higher. But the $6,499 in prize money she received helped to soften the blow. Kennedy previously finished in second place in one of the WSOP Circuit tournaments held earlier this year at Harrah’s Tunica.

Fifth Place: “It’s a Cryin’ Shame,” Says Mike McNeal
Mike McNeal cold not have picked a worse time to try and make a move with a marginal hand. He was dealt KT and moved all in hoping to steal some chips. But he got called down by pocket aces. A ten flopped, giving the financial consultant from Franklinton, LA some hope. But that’s as far as McNeal improved, which resulted in his fifth place finish, worth $8,246.

Fourth Place: For Hengli Tang, “Out Goes the Light”
Hengli (Henry) Tang, from Tallahassee, FL began play with a healthy stack size. But he ran low on chips late in the competition. Tang moved all-in pre-flop with a tiny pair hoping to either steal a round of blinds and antes, or double up in a possible race. Unfortunately, Tang moved in with pocket deuces and got a call from a rival holding pocket sixes. Tang failed to hit a set or improve and ultimately went out in fourth place with $10,133.

Third Place: “They Sky is Crying” for Dan Walsh
Poor Dan Walsh. He can’t catch a break. Despite unquestionable dedication to the game, tons of hors spent playing poker, and obvious talent, Walsh can’t get a breakthrough victory. He lost three races early, which cut his stack size in half. Then, he held on for dear life for nearly three hours before finally taking a bad beat with A5 against Q7. A seven came, provoking a colorful filament of commentary from the occasionally-bombastic Georgia poker pro. Walsh ended up losing the pot and collected $12,579 for third place. Nevertheless, Walsh has enjoyed a good series, with a second place finish four days earlier in the No-Limit heads-Up tournament.

Second Place: Huey Hulin “Can’t Be Satisfied”
It’s hard to imagine what must have been going through Huey Hulin’s head after watching his chips magically disappear during the last 20 minutes of the tournament. It was as if the poker gods flipped a switch somewhere, cutting off all energy to the contractor from St. Martinsville, LA. First, Hulin watched helplessly when he was just one card away from victory, and “Big Pappa” ended up rivering a full-house. On the key hand, Hulin and “Big Pappa” both had flopped trip nines. Hulin had the better kicker. But “Big Pappa” brought down the hammer on the final card and spiked his miracle. After a few hands during which Hulin lost the chip lead, “Big Pappa” had his adversary all-in and ended up winning the tournament with king high. For his effort, Hulin received $20,266, which seemed about as satisfying as missing the lottery jackpot by one number. This was Hulin’s first time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event.

The two key heads-up hands can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie10nKn80dw

First Place: “Big Pappa” Says — “Lets the Good Times Roll”
A Georgia man who goes by the nickname “Big Pappa” won $32,775. He also received a WSOP Circuit gold ring. He did not wish to have any publicity. Hence, the most mystifying of all tournaments that have taken place at this year’s Bayou Poker Challenge ended on a most fitting note — with the eventual champion just as enigmatic a figure as his win was inexplicable.

The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans continues through May 19th. This year’s schedule includes 19 gold ring events, along with multiple second-chance tournaments, single table and mega satellites, in addition to cash games going around the clock inside the Harrah’s New Orleans Poker Room. This marks the sixth straight year Harrah’s New Orleans has been a part of the WSOP Circuit. This is the 11th and final WSOP Circuit stop of the 2009-2010 season following previous tournaments held in Chicago, Southern Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tunica, Council Bluffs, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Rincon, Harrah’s St. Louis, and Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Event #13 Final Results

2010 Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit Events Schedule and Results

Executive Staff, World Series of Poker Circuit – Harrah’s New Orleans

Tournament Director – Steve Frezer

General Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans — Jim Hoskins
Vice President of Marketing – Sandie McNamara
Director of Table Games – Tosha Skipper
Shift Manager of Harrah’s New Orleans – Larry Barrett
Special Events Coordinator – Gretchen Holzhauser

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